Ask a Barista: How Do You Beat Overcaffeination?

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Caffeine overdose is more than just an unpleasant skin-crawling sensation that strikes after a few too many espressos—it's also an occupational hazard for baristas everywhere.

If left untreated, bad cases can lead to shaky hands, sweaty palms, double vision, and a profoundly unhappy-making cause of stomach upset. (Just ask me about the afternoon in Rome I spent curled up in a ball, moaning and bemoaning all that fine Italian robusta I'd just overdone it on.)

When overcaffeination strikes—it can at any time, and no coffee drinker is safe—who better to turn to for advice than the pros? We ask 13 lucky baristas their tried-and-true methods to slow their heart rates after a particularly grueling, if stimulating, shift. Here's what they had to say.

For over a decade, Meister has lived a double life as both a writer and a coffee professional—though she has yet to figure out which is her Dr. Jekyll side and which Mr. Hyde. Her day job is as a member of the customer support team for Counter Culture Coffee, and she has written and/or edited for The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Slashfood.com, Time Out NY, BUST Magazine, Barista Magazine, and Chickpea Magazine in addition to her work with this fine site. On her own, she blogs about cooking adventures (and misadventures) at The Nervous Cook, and about learning to love the long run at Running While Smiling.
She, her husband, and their dog share a too-small Chelsea apartment that's stuffed to the gills with books, vintage clothes, and a whole lot of tchotchkes.